Whipped by winds on a mountain slope in northern Pakistan, Graham Saunders moves carefully amid the shattered remains of a mud-walled village, surveying the damage caused by a powerful earthquake in October, 2005. Sliding a digital camera from his hip pocket, he photographs each pile of splintered timber and stone. As an architect who has encountered many similar scenes for the last decade, his mind is already on what it will take to rebuild here.

SERENITY ON A BUDGET

A "not-so-big" house is not necessarily an inexpensive house. But if you keep the size of the house small and stick with common materials, basic construction methods, and simple details, you can indeed build or remodel on a limited budget.

SACRAMENTAL RESTORATION

The Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament has been an impressive landmark of California's capital city of Sacramento ever since its 1889 completion. But by the turn of the 21st century, it had deteriorated and been found incapable of withstanding the next big earthquake. Now, a $34.5 million restoration has rescued this spiritual oasis in a political city.